Welcome to Greifswald!

Citizens from EU member states and the Schengen area generally do not require a visa to study in Germany. If you are not from an EU or Schengen member state, you generally need a student visa (not a Schengen visa) to enter Germany and study.

Students who can enter Germany without a visa but require a residence permit for the duration of their study stay can apply for this at the Foreigners' Registration Office in Greifswald after their arrival. In order to avoid administrative procedures and waiting times in Greifswald, we recommend that you apply for the visa in your home country.

The University of Greifswald offers its exchange students the opportunity to live in the halls of residence of the Studierendenwerk. As an exchange student, you are guaranteed a room in a hall of residence - usually the easiest and cheapest way to live in Greifswald. Before you arrive, please indicate in your application whether you would like to apply for a room in a hall of residence.

The Incoming Team will support you in concluding the tenancy agreement in Greifswald. In addition to the halls of residence of the Studierendenwerk, the public and private housing market in Greifswald also offers numerous options ranging from halls of residence to shared apartments or your own apartment. You can find rooms in Facebook groups or on internet portals.

Every student must enrol at the University of Greifswald before beginning their studies. Enrolment takes place at the Registrar's Office (Rubenowstraße 2, Greifswald). For Erasmus and exchange students, enrolment takes place directly via the International Office. The University of Greifswald does not charge tuition fees. However, a semester fee must be paid at the beginning of the semester.

Program to support international students:
https://www.uni-greifswald.de/en/international/buddy-programme/

At the beginning of your stay in Greifswald, you must register as a resident of the city of Greifswald within one week at the Office for Citizen Services and Fire Protection (address: Markt 15, Greifswald). For this you will need

• a valid passport/ID card, 
• a landlord's certificate of residence (landlord's certificate of valid move-in, the rental agreement is not sufficient as proof),
• a (provisional) certificate of enrollment,
• if applicable, a certificate of deregistration from your previous place of residence in Germany.

Banks in Germany offer free current accounts for students. You can use your debit card to withdraw cash from ATMs free of charge and make cashless payments in stores.

As an EU citizen, your home bank account is sufficient for your stay in Germany. You do not need to open a German bank account. However, you should consider doing so under the following conditions: 1) You have a room in a student hall of residence and 2) Your home account is not in euro currency (e.g. Czech koruna, British pounds) and/or your bank does not allow direct debits from Germany.

Non-EU citizens are required to open a German bank account.

Documents required:

• Registration certificate from the Office for Citizen Services and Fire Protection,
• Passport/ID,
• Certificate of enrollment,
• residence permit/certificate of freedom of movement, if applicable.

It is best if you contact your chosen bank by telephone before opening an account and make an appointment.

In Germany, health insurance is compulsory for foreign students/researchers and also for their accompanying family members. You need health insurance in order to be admitted to the University of Greifswald. The responsible immigration authorities also require proof of this for your residence permit. You will not be issued a residence permit without valid health insurance!

We therefore recommend that you contact your health insurance company in your home country before you leave to clarify whether your insurance cover is also valid in Germany so that you are covered from day one. If this is not the case, we recommend that you take out travel health insurance to cover you for the first few days in Greifswald.

For EU citizens (Erasmus+), the European Health Care Insurance (blue card) is usually sufficient as proof. Please submit a copy for enrollment.

Non-EU citizens must take out health insurance after their arrival in Greifswald. The cost of student insurance is currently around 90 euros. We will be happy to help you find suitable health insurance.

Documents required:

• Registration certificate from the Office for Citizen Services,
• (provisional) certificate of enrollment,
• Passport/ID,
• 1 biometric passport photo (for the health insurance card).

A prepaid card is recommended for exchange students, as fixed contracts often have a minimum term of two years.
Tip: If you want to activate a prepaid card, an ID check is required. To do this, hold your ID card or passport up to the camera
of a laptop/tablet and your passport will be confirmed by video. Unfortunately, there are sometimes problems with foreign passports, so it is easiest to purchase the prepaid card directly from the respective provider.

If you are registered in Greifswald, you will receive a request by post to pay the broadcasting license fee (GEZ). However, this contribution only has to be paid once per household! If a roommate from your apartment is already paying the fee, you should definitely indicate this in the GEZ request and report it back! Talk to your flatmates so that the costs can be shared and not paid twice.

After enrolment (matriculation), students receive their study documents by post or Erasmus and exchange students receive them from the International Office. In addition to the student ID card and study certificates, these documents also contain access to the university network (user name and password). This enables you to use your personal student e-mail account, the university information system ('HIS') and other university online services.

Doctoral candidates have the opportunity to apply for a university e-mail account before arriving in Greifswald. Ms. Held from the University Computer Centre is responsible for the application (held@uni-greifswald.de).

Your room will be handed over shortly before your departure. When your room is handed over, it will be checked for defects. If such defects are found (which is relatively common), the cost of the repairs will be deducted from your deposit.

It is best to make an appointment with the janitor service to hand over your room two weeks before you move out! Ask your Local Buddy or another German-speaking person to help you with the room handover.

Please remember to deregister at the Residents' Registration Office in the Office for Citizen Services before you leave Greifswald.

You can find the opening hours here.

At the end of your stay in Greifswald, you must deregister from the University of Greifswald.

You can find the form for de-registration here.

Please send the completed and signed form by e-mail to: studsek@uni-greifswald.de